Helping Hands Celebrates 25 Years with a Very Special Summer Garden Party

Helping Hands celebrated an extraordinary milestone on Sunday 16 August, as clients, volunteers, supporters, friends and members of the wider community came together for our 25th Anniversary Summer Garden Party.

It was an afternoon that captured so much of what Helping Hands has been about for the past quarter of a century: friendship, practical support, laughter, kindness and people looking out for one another.

The garden was filled with guests from across our community, enjoying wonderful food and entertainment, browsing stalls from local artists and makers, catching up with old friends and making new ones.

The messages that have arrived since have meant so much to us.

“The afternoon was an outstanding success.”

“Our community are very lucky to have Helping Hands at their side.”

“It was fantastic to meet old friends.”

“The food was delicious and there was a wonderful atmosphere and sense of community.”

One guest described Helping Hands as “a shining example of what a truly cross communal organisation should look and feel like,” while another summed us up rather wonderfully as “chicken soup for body and soul.”

From a mobile phone to 25 years of Helping Hands

The celebration was also an opportunity to remember just how far Helping Hands has come.

Twenty-five years ago, Sarah Wilks, Liz Shaw and the late Liz Posner, affectionately known as Mrs P, came together with an idea for a volunteer support network for the local Jewish community.

As Sarah and Liz recalled in their anniversary speech:

“We started with a mobile phone, no money and no one taking us seriously, but look at us now.”

From those beginnings, Helping Hands has grown into an established and respected charity supporting members of the Jewish community across Brighton & Hove and beyond.

While much has changed over 25 years, Sarah and Liz told guests that one thing has remained constant: “We continue to care about our volunteers, clients and the community.”

Today, Helping Hands provides a wide range of practical and social support. Our wonderful volunteer drivers help clients get to hospital and other appointments, shopping and events. Volunteers befriend clients through phone calls and visits, help with practical jobs and provide company to those who may be feeling lonely or isolated.

Our activities have also grown over the years to include our weekly Chatty Café, Craft Afternoons, monthly Souper Sunday deliveries, Home Teas and regular community teas.

At its heart, however, Helping Hands remains what it has always been: a support network run for the Jewish community, by the community.

The people who make it possible

Sunday's celebration itself was an enormous community effort.

More than 45 volunteers worked across two sites, alongside our volunteer drivers, to make the afternoon possible. From setting up and serving to welcoming and supporting guests, delivering teas to clients who were unable to attend and tackling the countless jobs behind the scenes, our volunteers were everywhere.

As Sarah and Liz said on the day:

“Our volunteers are the heart of this organisation, and quite simply, Helping Hands would not be Helping Hands without you.”

We could not agree more.

Our thanks also go to the many community organisations, friends, supporters, donors and professionals who have worked alongside Helping Hands over the years.

A celebration with a creative touch

We were delighted to welcome a wonderful group of artists, makers and crafters to the Garden Party.

Our guests were able to meet Charlie Brown, with her intricate French beading; Beverley Jackson-Brown of StarDanced, with handmade glass creations; wildlife artist Sara Sabel; watercolour artist Noah Gerstman; Hove-based contemporary landscape artist Justin Butler; professional cartoonist and writer Brian Davis; and Kyra Peacock of Taavoos Trinkets, with her handmade jewellery.

Their creativity brought even more colour to the afternoon and we are so grateful that they joined our celebration.

Special thanks also go to Matt at Brighton Marquees and Nico at Friendly Vans for their invaluable help behind the scenes.

A milestone worth celebrating

We were incredibly touched to receive messages and letters of congratulations marking our Silver Anniversary, including a letter from Her Majesty The Queen, alongside messages from other dignitaries and friends of Helping Hands.

To see 25 years of Helping Hands recognised in this way was incredibly special, but this anniversary belongs to everyone who has been part of the organisation.

It belongs to our founders and to those who helped establish Helping Hands in its earliest days. It belongs to the trustees, executive members and supporters who have helped it grow. It belongs to every volunteer who has driven somebody to an appointment, made a phone call, delivered soup, poured a cup of tea or simply sat and listened.

Most importantly, it belongs to our clients, who have trusted Helping Hands and allowed us to be part of their lives.

As one of the beautiful messages we received after the Garden Party said:

“It’s all the countless kindnesses big and small that make a difference to so many.”

That feels like a rather good description of the first 25 years of Helping Hands.

We are enormously proud of everything that has been built, but we're not finished yet. Helping Hands will continue to evolve alongside our community, finding new ways to support our clients and bringing people together.

What an adventure these first 25 years have been. Here’s to the next 25!